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been constituted for a time, in order to deliver the regalia. But (to use the words of his letter of April 28) "since his majesty had been pleased to pitch upon a person who had had so much experience in all affairs in that kingdom, and so eminent for his loyalty, this made him resolve to stay till his grace should arrive, that he might himself put the sword into his hands." He determined to receive the duke of Ormond with all the solemnity and pomp imaginable; and having consulted the council on this subject, the following order was drawn up on August 17, which, because it is the only form I have met with of the ceremonial of such a reception, I have here inserted it, in the words of the order, signed by a very full board on that occasion. It was ordered,

"That as soon as the shipping attending the duke of Ormond for his arrival here shall be discovered to be on the coast, five pieces of ordnance be discharged from the Custom-House key to give notice thereof. That if his grace land on the college side of the river, the royal regiment and the regiment of the city militia do make a guard for him from the Castle-Gate forwards towards Chichester-House, and so onwards as far as the number of both regiments duly placed shall extend. That if his grace shall land on the other side of the river, then the said two regiments do make a guard for him from the Castle-Gate to Newgate, from thence through the New Row to Ormond-Gate, from thence to the Bridge-Gate, and so forward, as far as the number duly placed shall extend.

8 "Those persons that shall on horseback attend the sheriffs of the city from the place where they shall meet his grace, are to march foremost into the city; and after them the two militia troops [of] the city. Then the guard of battle-axes. Then his grace. Then the troop of guards; and then his grace's train. Those persons that shall on horseback attend the sheriffs of the city, are, at their coming to the Castle-Gate, to march to the Wood-Key; the troop, to the College-Green; and the battleaxes, to the Castle-Gate, and there to make a guard for his grace. That after his grace and his train shall be a while within the castle, then the troops to give a volley-shot, and after them

the foot; and then the ordnance to give a peal; and so all thrice. That none be permitted to ride into the castle on the day of his grace's reception, but the lords and the privy counsellors, the judges, the king's learned council, and the masters of the chancery. That in case his grace do not ride, but come in his coach, no coach be admitted into the castle that day but the lord lieutenant's coach, his grace's, the duchess's, and the coaches of the lords, privy counsellors, judges, king's council, and masters of chancery; and as to all other coaches, that they pass by the castle. That at night there be bonfires, &c. That upon notice of his grace's coming into the harbour, the council do attend the 469 lord lieutenant at the castle. That in case his grace land on Howth side or Bloick side, then the viscounts Blessington and Lanesborough, sir Charles Meredith, chancellor of the exchequer, and sir Theophilus Jones, all members of this board, or any two or more of them, do attend his grace, and signify to him that they are sent by us the lord lieutenant and council to attend his grace, and from us to congratulate his safe arrival; and to signify to his grace, that the lord lieutenant and council are met in the castle of Dublin, and desire to receive his grace's pleasure, whether the lord lieutenant and council shall attend for his grace at the castle or in the council-chamber; and where and when his grace will be pleased to take his oath of lord lieutenant; and to deliver his grace a copy hereof."

9 Such was the form of the duke of Ormond's reception at Dublin, where he soon after laid the foundation of the great hospital for soldiers, which is a very stately pile. Another of his works, which he set about upon his entry upon the government, was, the erecting of Charles-Fort to secure the harbour of Kinsale. But that which employed the greatest part of his time was the business of the revenue, and detecting the frauds of sir James Shaen and his partners, who farmed it of his majesty. His grace had suffered so much by misrepresentations of the former management of the revenue, that he procured very particular instructions on that head, dated August 1, 1677, and containing stricter rules than ever had been laid down. before.

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The king therein declared his resolution " to sign no letters for the granting of any money or lands, or for releasing or abating any rents or other sums of money due to him in Ireland, but upon a petition presented to him, which was either first to be recommended by the lord lieutenant, or to be transmitted to him by one of the secretaries of state, and his opinion of it to be had before any order or letter should be signed thereupon. Such petition was afterwards to be referred to the lord treasurer of England, who was to be made acquainted with the lord lieutenant's recommendation, or sense of the matter, and to make a report. No patent for the like grants, releases, or abatements was to pass in England, without the chief governor of Ireland's being made acquainted with it; which rule was to be entered in the signet and all other offices therein concerned. The lord lieutenant was to issue no orders upon any of the king's letters for granting money, lands, pensions, titles of honour or employments in Ireland, unless they had been first entered in the signet office in England; which was necessary to prevent the same thing being granted to several persons. No letters or directions from the king for the payment of any money were to be directed immediately to the vice-treasurer of Ireland, but only to the chief governor; and no payments made by the vice-treasurer upon any such letters or directions from his majesty, without the chief governor's warrant thereupon, were to be allowed upon the vicetreasurer's accounts."

The duke of Ormond was sufficiently guarded by these instructions against an evil from which he had lately suffered the being made answerable for other people's neglects and mismanagements; but they seemed to subject him to another inconvenience. He had in his former government disobliged abundance of persons (some of them his particular friends) by refusing to pass improper grants which they had obtained from his majesty, whose

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service and the public good he always preferred to all private considerations whatever; so that when they were aware of any objection to the orders, warrants, or letters, which they had solicited and obtained, they took care to get them directed to the immediate officer who was to execute them, without undergoing the lord lieutenant's inspection, or being authorized (as regularly they ought 470 to be) by his warrant. These instructions above mentioned, entirely taking away that kind of management, and requiring the chief governor's approbation, or at least opinion, of every petition and grant, seemed to expose him more than ever to the ill-will of persons who, being too partial in their own case, were apt to ask things that were unreasonable. But this inconvenience he effectually provided against by other instructions, which rendered the execution of any letters or grants, when obtained, impracticable; it being in vain to solicit the lord lieutenant for his approbation of any petitions or grants, when no order procured thereon could be of any benefit to the petitioners.

These other instructions were, "that in case the revenue should not hold out to pay the whole establishment, the same should not be applied to the payment of any pensions, till the rest of the civil and military lists were first paid; and if afterwards it would not hold out to the payment of all the pensions, a proportionable abatement should be made out of each of them." This interested every body, who had pensions already, to oppose the granting of any new ones, lest they should occasion a defalcation of their own. It was provided further," that the lord lieutenant should give no orders upon any letters for granting money or lands, releasing or abating rents, in which the rules before mentioned had not been observed; nor until the civil and military lists, and all other sums of money due upon the establishment, should be fully paid; and that he should give no orders upon any

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of the king's letters for increasing the establishment, or inserting any new sums of money or payments thereupon, till it should appear to him that the revenue was sufficient to answer such increase of the establishment."

These instructions were procured upon a representation made by the duke of Ormond to the king in council on July 12 before he went into Ireland, "that the bringing of the payments upon the establishment within the compass of the certain revenue, (that so all might constantly receive what was due to them at the time appointed for their payment,) and the payment of all the arrears of the military list and pensions incurred since the end of lord Ranelagh's contract, were absolutely necessary, in order to the execution of his other instructions relating to the government of the kingdom. For till this were done, and whilst the army continued in arrear, it would be hard to keep the officers to their duty, or so long in their gar risons as would be necessary for the well disciplining and exercising of their troops and companies. In such case, they would still have the pretence of soliciting for their pay to excuse their absence, and the common soldiers would be forced (as heretofore they had been) to look for work too far from the garrisons for their subsistence. It would be yet more difficult, till they were fully and constantly paid, to remove troops and, companies from one garrison to another, which ought frequently to be done to prevent all the corruptions they might contract by their long continuance in one place, which might extend further, and to more dangerous inconveniences (especially in some places) than those of making false musters, and taking unfit persons to fill up their rolls. And if there should be occasion to draw any considerable part of the army into a body, without first discharging their old quarters and fitting themselves for the expedition, they would be followed with the clamour of those who had trusted them for their support in their old quarters; and that